Crossroads
by The Cat's Paw
Summary: Sakura is given a once in several lifetimes opportunity by the Shinto god, Chimata-no-kami, to change things. What decisions will she make, and how will this affect the outcome of history? T rated, no pairings at this point, Sakura-centric time travel. DISCONTINUED, TO BE REWRITTEN, BECAUSE I WROTE MYSELF INTO A PLOT-HOLE, AND CRASHED INTO A HUGE BRICK WALL. METAPHORICALLY. ;p
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there! This was a story I thought up and wrote on paper when I was sans laptop for three weeks. That seems to be a running theme for me lately. ;) In any case, this is inspired by fics where people go back in time to change things, and slightly also OP Sakura fics. Because she was supposed to be OP when I started writing this, but it just didn't end up that way. She's still gonna be stronger, just not over the top.**

 **The next chapter's done, but I still want to go over it and make sure it's up to scratch before I post it whenever.**

 **Disclaimer that I don't own Naruto, and enjoy, folks! :)**

 _ **Crossroads**_

 **Chapter One**

This was weird.

An understatement, of course, but Sakura wasn't feeling in the mood to pamper to expectations. Those expectations should have had her screaming, and possibly running in the other direction. But instead she simply stood there and stared at the strange man who claimed to be Chimata-no-kami.

"Really?" she asked eventually.

"Really," he told her. "No tricks, just a simple offer."

Sakura scoffed. "There's no such thing as a _simple_ offer, especially from a _kami_ ," she said.

He simply shrugged. "It's as simple as I can offer," he told her. "You're at a crossroad, Sakura, something I'm sure you're aware I have influence over."

Of course she was aware. Chimata-no-kami was the Shinto god of crossroads and highways.

"You expect me to accept an offer from someone who gets offerings of a _phallic_ nature on his shrines?" she demanded.

"Those were purely ritual offerings," he told her, and she detected a slightly defensive tone. "I was dabbling in fertility at the time."

"And you're not now?" she demanded.

"No," he said. "I was instead offered Time, since there are no other gods that truly deal in it. At least, not in this part of the world. And what part of the world you're in is important in these matters."

"So what's the deal then?" Sakura asked. " _Not_ that I'm saying yes, I just want to know what I'll be rejecting."

Chimata-no-kami smiled serenely, but with a slightly wicked gleam in his eye that had Sakura gasping lightly in trepidation. "I will send you to three crossroads," he told her. "You will change the outcome of each, if you so desire. Once done, I will then put you into a past version of yourself, one of the points where you were at your own personal crossroad. It will be your choice which one."

"And what do you get in return?" Sakura asked, still quite suspicious.

He merely shrugged his shoulders and said rather enigmatically, "What I will get is incomprehensible to mere mortals."

She simply stared at him a moment, before asking, "Which points in my life?"

"One where you were nine, one where you were twelve, then thirteen, sixteen, and eighteen."

A brief recollection, and Sakura realised what all but one of those points in time would be. From aged twelve, she knew it was when she joined Team Seven. At thirteen, when Naruto and Sasuke left, and she'd gone to her shishou for training. At sixteen was when Naruto returned, and the two, along with Kakashi-sensei, had formed their new team. And eighteen… Well, that would be the fourth shinobi war and its aftermath.

"What's so special about when I was nine?" she asked.

He gave her a look that told her to _think_ , so she did. When she was nine… When she was nine… Her eyes widened. That was when she'd told Ino they could no longer be friends because of Sasuke!

"Really?" she asked. " _That's_ a crossroad for me?"

"Not all crossroads are world defining or earth shattering," Chimata-no-kami told her. "In fact, it is those small, personal ones that are the most important."

Sakura absorbed that carefully. "What points are you sending me to change?" she asked.

"You would be there when Uchiha Madara survives his fight with Senju Hashirama," Chimata-no-kami told her. "Then, during the third shinobi war, when a certain Shimura Danzou _almost_ died. Finally and also during the third war, you would choose to either kill or save Uchiha Obito."

"No chances to kill Zetsu?" Sakura asked, disappointed.

"Zetsu is connected to Kaguya," the deity told her. "I have no jurisdiction over him. Feel free, though, to do something about it if you can once you're back in your own time-line."

Sakura sighed and closed her eyes. "Alright," she said. "I accept."

The god before her grinned and held out his hand. "Come along then," he said, and when Sakura grasped his hand, a bright light flashed, and they vanished from sight.

OoOoO

Looking around, Sakura had to blink to get her bearings. She was in a long tunnel, and Chimata-no-kami was gone. But someone else was there. Looking down, she saw a man in red armour, badly injured and on the verge of death. But she also saw that his wounds were healing, and recognized that this was Uchiha Madara. She'd heard the story from those who'd heard it directly from the man himself, that he had 'stolen' the First Hokage's DNA during their fight, and it had healed him.

But not this time. Sakura pulled a katana from a sheath on her back, stepping over to him carefully. His eyes cracked open and he stared up at her blankly.

"Who… cough… who are you?" he demanded in a voice that highlighted the severity of his wounds.

Sakura knelt down next to him, leaning forward to whisper in his ear, "I am a messenger of the gods, the harbinger of your death."

Standing back up, she brought the katana down, cleaving his head from his body. She searched her possessions and found some flammable liquids, pouring it liberally on him before placing a paper bomb on him, stepping back out of the way before it ignited. The tunnel shook and reverberated with the explosion, Sakura slapping her hands over her ears at the sound of it. Once the smoke from the explosion cleared, she saw that the fluid and the bomb had done its job, Madara was nothing but a smoking, charred corpse.

As the scent of burnt flesh permeated her nostrils, Chimata-no-kami appeared before her again, hand out once more. Sakura took it, vanishing with that flash of light once more.

OoOoO

The air around her was stifling, and Sakura choked on the smoke, looking around for a man she blamed for _everything_ that had gone wrong in her village. More than any other, despite the fact of the involvement of people like Madara and Zetsu. Finally, after searching the bloody battlefield, she found him, Shimura Danzou, lying amongst his dead allies and enemies alike. He was gasping for breath, wouldn't last too much longer without medical help.

Sakura stood over him as he reached up to her, obviously expecting her to help him. Instead, she drew her katana once more, watching as his eyes widened in realisation of her intentions.

"Why?" he rasped. "Y-you're a Konoha ninja!"

"And you're scum," she told him with a sneer, dealing the same blow to him that she'd dealt to Madara.

This time, she didn't bother to burn the body, leaving him in the sea of corpses. No one else here was alive, if he'd gotten out, he would have been the sole survivor. Still, Sakura could sense others approaching, and knew it was time to go. As she thought that, Chimata-no-kami appeared and the two left the battlefield, moments before the medical squad that was _supposed_ to save Danzou's life leapt into the clearing.

OoOoO

The whole area was unstable, even as Sakura used her chakra enhanced strength to lift the rubble off the young Uchiha before her. She bent down, glowing green hands assessing the damage. Obito was incredibly injured, would likely die without medical intervention. That intervention came in the form of Madara before, but now, it would be Sakura. It was incredibly tempting to just let him die, after everything that he'd done. But just like with Sasuke, he'd been manipulated into it all, and had even repented right at the end.

So Sakura worked on stabilising him, pouring as much healing chakra into him as she could to make sure that he wouldn't lose his right arm or leg. His entire right side was a mess, she wasn't sure if she could do it. Still, she was determined to give it her best shot. Once it was done, she would also need to figure out how to get them both out of here.

Halfway through the healing, Obito suddenly started coughing, bringing himself to. Sakura had to shut off her chakra to hold him still before he undid what she'd already healed.

"Stay still!" she snapped at him. "You're undoing all my work!"

"Wh-who are you?" Obito demanded, stilling at her command, but remaining tense until he figured out if she were friend or foe.

"I'm a friend," she told him. "I've been healing you. You're out of immediate danger, but I need to keep going, otherwise you'll lose the use of your right arm and leg. So please, stay still and quiet while I heal you."

Obito considered her a moment, then nodded and relaxed once he'd spotted her Leaf hitai-ate. Sakura sighed and went back to healing him, repairing the damage to his crushed body. Obito was silent for awhile, then it seemed that he'd decided that he didn't want to be quiet.

"Who are you?" he asked again. "Where's Kakashi? And Rin-chan?"

"You were alone when I found you," Sakura said. "I'm a medic-nin, you don't need to worry."

"They left me?" Obito gasped, then sighed. "I _did_ tell them to go, after all. Do you… I don't suppose you know if they're still nearby?"

"I sensed some chakras before," Sakura told him. "Not sure who they are though, could be the enemy. But maybe your team isn't far? If you sent off a chakra flare, that could let them know you're still alive."

"But it could also bring the enemy here," Obito said.

"It's a risk," Sakura admitted, then sighed. "I've almost finished stabilising you, but I honestly have no idea how to get you out of here. We may have to run the risk of the enemy finding us, but don't worry, I can handle them."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "You're using a lot of chakra to heal me."

"Don't you worry about me," Sakura smiled. "I can handle myself."

Silence awhile longer, then she cut off her chakra and pulled her hands away. "There, that's all I can do," she said. "Though I have _no idea_ what's up with your eye. It looks like it was surgically removed, though crudely."

"I gave it to Kakashi," Obito said, then frowned. "Crudely? Rin-chan's an excellent medic, I'll have you know!"

"I'm sure she is," Sakura said. "But I doubt anyone could do this at a proper surgical level in the middle of an enemy base, deep in enemy territory. Never mind that, though. Do you think you could send out a chakra flare now?"

Obito nodded, then concentrated on gathering his chakra. After a few moments, he let out a surprisingly strong flare, and Sakura unsheathed her katana, ready for any enemies that might appear. They didn't have to wait long, as two Iwa nin suddenly appeared.

"Well, lookie here," one of them sneered. "More meat for the slaughter."

Sakura didn't dawdle, didn't even let them move towards her before she was slashing with her katana at lightning speed. She ended their lives swiftly, not wanting to waste any chakra, then was immediately on the offensive when three others arrived. She dealt with them just as swiftly, then upon not sensing anymore approaching, turned back to Obito, who was staring at her, open mouthed.

"You were so fast!" he practically squawked. "I've never even seen _Kakashi_ move that fast!"

Well, Kakashi was her initial sensei, Sakura mused to herself. Though it was the months she put into training with Gai's team that had really upped the ante for her. And of course, all the evasion techniques she'd learned studying under Tsunade-shishou made it even harder for her enemy to hit her on top of the speed she'd acquired.

Sakura grinned sheepishly. "Thanks," she said. "I'll take that as a compliment. Say, you want one of these guys eyes as a replacement? I could do it, you know."

Obito made a face, and Sakura laughed. A moment later, she was tense again, katana ready. But the three ninja who burst in weren't Iwa nins. They were…

"Minato-sensei!" Obito choked out, struggling to sit up as Sakura put her katana away. "Rin-chan! Kakashi!"

A sobbing Rin ran forward, while Minato and Kakashi stayed back. The two shinobi looked suspicious of Sakura, but it was likely the presence of her Konoha hitai-ate that kept them from attacking her. Sakura moved over to where Rin was sobbing over Obito, and placed her hands on his chest, checking that he hadn't strained anything trying to sit up. He had, of course, and Sakura let out a 'tsk-ing' noise before pushing in her chakra.

"I told you not to move, you know," she said to him. "Now I have to fix it again."

"Sorry," he said sheepishly.

Once she was done, Sakura stood and faced Minato. "He's stable," she told the future Fourth Hokage. "You need to get him out of here, though. He's got a long road to recovery ahead of him, but with regular healing sessions and physiotherapy, he should be able to go back on the active roster in… Maybe eight months. Six, if he's lucky."

Minato nodded. "I'll have one of my summons transport him and Rin to our main camp," he said, then bit his thumb and summoned a toad to take his two students away.

"How did you get the rubble off him?" Kakashi demanded. "Rin and I couldn't move it."

Sakura could hear the suspicion in his voice, but rather than answer, she simply shrugged. She could see it annoyed him, but she really didn't care. Once Obito, Rin, and the toad summon were gone, Sakura started to get a little fidgety, wanting Minato and Kakashi to leave, but it didn't seem to be happening.

"We should all leave now," Minato said. "You should come along with us, we can all report to base camp together."

"I still have a mission to accomplish," Sakura said. "You can go on ahead without me."

"Perhaps we could be of assistance?" Minato asked, and Sakura internally groaned.

He really didn't want to let her out of his sight, obviously he was still suspicious. She realised that _he_ realised that she was likely planning to disappear, though she doubted he knew what her reasons actually were.

"It's not necessary," she told him. "I have my orders."

Finally Minato realised that he wasn't going to be able to keep an eye on her. "Alright," he said reluctantly. "Good luck. Kakashi, let's go."

The instant they were gone, Sakura let out a sigh of relief, even as Chimata-no-kami appeared, holding out his hand. Wearily she took it, vanishing from sight. Only moments later, Minato and Kakashi were back, surprised at the sudden and utter disappearance of the strange kunoichi's chakra.

OoOoO

Sakura stood before Chimata-no-kami once more in that strange place she'd first spoken to him in.

"Interesting choice you made there on that last one," he said. "Though since others saw you, you're going to have some fall-out with that."

Sakura sighed, then shrugged. "I'll deal with it," she said. "Besides, Obito was manipulated into the things he'd done. Taking that away, he has a better chance with his life in the future."

"Soft hearted," Chimata-no-kami said, though Sakura couldn't tell if he was mocking, scoffing, complimenting, or simply stating a fact. "Have you decided which crossroad you will choose?"

Nodding, Sakura said, "You told me that personal ones were more important. So I'll go with the personal one. When I was nine."

"You realise that with your knowledge, you've the potential to influence a lot of changes to history?" Chimata-no-kami said.

"I've already changed things, haven't I?" Sakura asked.

"Not everything that happened to you before was affected by the things you changed," the deity told her. "Mostly only the Uchiha, Root ANBU, and the Fourth Hokage's destiny was changed."

"What about the Akatsuki?" Sakura wondered.

"There were other factors there as well," he reminded her. "Though they may change as a group, there were still things other than Madara and Danzou's influence there. Civil unrest, for one. And of course, Orochimaru."

"So Orochimaru is still an issue then?" Sakura wondered.

"You'll find out soon enough, I'm sure," Chimata-no-kami told her. "Are you ready, then?"

Sakura nodded, and for the final time, the Shinto god of crossroads and highways held out his hand for her to take. The last she saw of him before that brilliant white flash was the smug, smirking expression of a god.

 **So what did you think? Chimata-no-kami is the closest Shinto god I could find for the whole 'time travel' thing. The whole 'crossroads' thing gives it a slightly unique spin, don't you think? Also, I'm actually not entirely sure how old Sakura and Ino were when their friendship broke off, though admittedly, I didn't look too hard. I just picked an age at random, kinda, and went with it.**

 **Also, if anyone wonders, I didn't have Sakura use anything that Tsunade taught her that was unique to her, minus the chakra strength to remove the rubble on Obito, on purpose. Just basic medical ninjutsu, done exceptionally, though, since Sakura is truly her mentor's successor.**

 **Anyway, review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Next chapter! I know I said in the author notes last chapter that this was done, but after reading through what I had, I decided it wasn't good enough. This isn't a rewrite of it, I've still got the other stuff, though I'm likely going to rewrite _that_. In any case, I changed the character filter to exclude Team 7, and put Kakashi on there instead. I've got a question to ask, though it'll be at the end of the chapter.**

 **In any case, disclaimer and enjoy, folks! :)**

 **Chapter Two**

At nine years of age, Sakura had been a normal girl. She had been at the starting point for where she'd follow fashion trends, notice boys, and begin to hold back in training for fear of gaining some scars to damage her looks, or break her nails. The idea of dieting was also starting to enter her head, though it would be another year or so before she would commit to that. Puberty was still a few years away, but that didn't really matter. As far as she was concerned, she was more than old enough to be called an _adult_.

All of those feelings and such had only gotten more intense as the years had gone by, never really fading away, even when she'd reached her ripe old time travelling age of twenty six. Thanks to her shishou, she knew just how to kick ass without breaking a single nail. She ate healthily, even if she didn't outright diet, though boys, or rather _men_ , were lower on her priority than when she was a teen.

At nine, Sakura had started to grow out her hair. It wasn't as long as it was when she was twelve, but it was already an inch or so past her shoulders. Swinging her head to and fro caused it to sway nicely, even as she'd practiced her 'womanly' walk back then, as all the girls were doing. And just as all the girls were doing, she'd focused her affections on the coolest boy in class, one Uchiha Sasuke.

Doing so had meant she'd cast aside friendships. Telling Ino they were rivals now, instead of best friends, had been the biggest mistake of her young life. She hadn't understood then that you could be friends with someone _and_ like the same boy. Sakura had believed that in order to 'win for love', you had to distance yourself from anyone who would be seen as competition for that love. And so, she'd stood before Ino, telling her that they could no longer be friends, and would forever be rivals in love.

Now of course, she realised how stupid that was. I mean seriously, the boy she'd cast her best friend aside for had ended up betraying the village, running off with a notorious S-class criminal, one who'd only recently killed their Hokage. That was an utter betrayal beyond what she'd comprehended at the time, it was no wonder everyone outside of Team Seven and most of the Konoha Twelve had been so hateful whenever Sasuke had been mentioned. He really hadn't been worth it.

Sure, when he helped them win the war against Madara, Zetsu, and Kaguya, he'd proved himself to them. That same distrust was still there, though it had faded over time. Sasuke had gone on to marry that other female team mate of his, Karin, and they had two children before Sakura'd encountered her second god.

Now, though, Sakura stood in front of Ino, her friend eyeing her speculatively. Neither had spoken, they were just staring at one another. Finally Ino sighed and asked, "What did you want to say, Sakura?"

This was her chance, of course. Before, she'd said they could no longer be friends, so instead, she said, "I wanted to confirm a rumour I heard. Are you really one of those girls who likes Sasuke?"

Ino's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed. "This is about Sasuke-kun?" she asked, then sighed. "I had a feeling something like this was coming. Alright, Sakura, go ahead and say what you wanted to say."

"I just..." Sakura bit her lip to ease some of her tension. "We're both going to be kunoichi, the best in Konoha. That's something you want, right? I mean, boys would just be a distraction from that goal."

Ino looked surprised. "Wow, that's _not_ what I expected you to say," she admitted. "Though I don't get it. I _know_ you like Sasuke-kun too, so what gives?"

"He _is_ cute," Sakura admitted. "But I've decided that I'm going to wait for romance until I've become a strong kunoichi, one who doesn't need a guy to rescue her, but could have her pick from any one of them!"

Ino grinned. "A bold statement, Sakura," she said. "Do you _really_ think you can become that kind of kunoichi?"

"We both can," Sakura said. "We can do _anything_ we put our minds to!"

Ino's grin widened. "Alright then!" she declared. "We'll both become strong kunoichi who can defend this village! But I'm _not_ giving up on Sasuke-kun to do it!"

Sakura grinned back at her, relieved. "So, you want to become my training buddy?" Sakura asked.

"Training buddy?" Ino asked. "Do you just mean in class, or outside as well, with extra training regimens and study sessions?"

"That last bit," Sakura said. "We could get a pass into the main ninja library, and research things like fighting styles, medical ninjutsu, and maybe some extra ninjutsu and genjutsu."

"You're getting a bit ahead of yourself," Ino said. "We don't have the chakra necessary for that!"

"Sorry," Sakura said sheepishly. "I'm getting a little bit excited about it all."

"It _is_ a good idea, though," Ino mused. "And I know that you can build up your chakra reserves through meditation and training… Alright, Sakura! Let's do it!"

Sakura was glad to have her friend again.

OoOoO

Reading up on Konoha history had given her invaluable information. Sakura had spent the last few hours holed up in the Academy library, just reading. After her talk with Ino, the two had made plans for their first 'training session', which Sakura could tell Ino was looking forward to. Then the pinkette had come straight to the library to catch up on history.

Most of it was unchanged, but there were a few things that were different. For instance, the chapter that had been dedicated to the kyuubi attack was gone. It had been vague enough in the first place, but now it was missing entirely. It made sense, since it had been Obito, under Madara and Zetsu's influence, that had orchestrated it. With her changes, he was likely somewhere in the village, a loyal shinobi of the Leaf.

Because she knew the Uchiha were still around. The librarian was an _Uchiha_ , someone who would have otherwise been dead, since the failed coup and Itachi's mission would have been about a year ago, if it had happened. Whether or not it would have still happened anyway was likely something that Sakura would never know, unless it actually _did_ happen. Here's hoping it didn't…

The Hokage though… The monument looked the same as it had the first time she was nine, so Sakura had no idea if the Sandaime or Yondaime were Hokage, though it was likely the latter since the kyuubi hadn't been unleashed on the village. Why would he have died, if not for that? The Yondaime was a legendary shinobi to her time-line, one of only two with a 'flee on sight' order attached to them. Or so she'd heard.

Sighing, Sakura stood, closing the book she'd been reading. She felt that she was prepared enough to not make too much of a fuss of herself in class tomorrow. She took the books she'd been reading back to their shelves, then spotted a book on ways to increase your chakra reserves. Maybe she could borrow this… She'd already stopped by her house for her student pass so that she could take out any books she felt she might need, and already had a couple more back at her table.

Stepping out from between the book aisles, she let out an 'oomph' when she ran into someone.

"Whoah! Careful, kid!"

Sakura looked up and her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the person before her. "Oh, sorry!" she exclaimed, bowing in apology. "I wasn't watching where I was going, I guess."

"It's fine," Uchiha Obito said, bending down to pick up the book she'd dropped. " _A Beginners Guide To Increasing Your Chakra_?"

"Well, we've all got to start somewhere," Sakura said sheepishly, taking the book as he handed it to her.

"You know, you look like someone I met once," he said to her, and Sakura used all the control she could muster not to react to that. "She had pink hair, too."

"Oh?" she asked. "Maybe I'm related to her, though as far as I know, only my father and I have pink hair in the village. What was her name?"

"She never told me," Obito said. "But she saved my life once. I just wish I knew who she was, so I could thank her."

"I'm sure that wherever she is, she knows," Sakura said sagely, then glanced at the closest clock on the wall. "Oh! I'm sorry, but I have to get going! It was nice meeting you… erm…"

"Obito," he told her.

"And I'm Sakura," she grinned. "Nice to meet you, Obito-san, but I need to get going, or my mum's gonna kick my butt for getting home after dark!"

Sakura stopped by the table she'd been sitting at earlier, grabbing two other books she intended to borrow, and headed straight for the front desk, ignoring Obito's stare on her back.

OoOoO

Obito stood in front of the Hokage's desk, a frown on his face.

"I don't get it," he said. "She looks _exactly_ like her, but she's _far_ too young to be her."

Minato sighed. "I really have no clue as to what is going on here," he admitted. "How can a grown woman during the third war suddenly turn up years later, only nine years old? I mean, outside some radical de-aging jutsu, or some kind of time travel…"

"Maybe they're simply related?" Obito suggested.

"We'll soon see," the Hokage said. "I gather from what you said that she's enrolled at the ninja Academy? Well, perhaps I'll pay a visit soon to the classes, see if I can figure out anything myself. In the meantime, I suppose there's really nothing we can do."

They were silent a moment, then Obito asked, "Have you spoken to Kakashi lately?"

Minato sighed. "He's been working himself ragged of late," he said. "Taking all the missions I will give him. He still blames himself for Rin's death…"

"It wasn't his fault," Obito interjected. "It was a mission, every shinobi knows the risk when they go out."

Minato raised an eyebrow. "So I guess this means you're no longer angry at him, then?" he asked.

Obito huffed and looked away. "I never really was," he admitted. "I just…"

"Needed someone to blame," the Hokage guessed. "Maybe you should talk to him then, he thinks you still blame him, after all."

"Maybe I will…" Obito mused. "If I may be dismissed?"

"Of course," Minato said, then sat back in his chair once his former student was gone.

So she was here then. It was unexpected, to find her like this. As soon as they'd returned to Konoha after that mission, he'd gone looking for her. There was no record of her, however, so he'd thought perhaps that she'd been attached to ROOT. And yet, once he'd become Hokage, there'd still been no sign of her. The person in charge of ROOT at the time hadn't been happy that the Hokage was meddling in his affairs, and his attitude had ended up having him cast out of the position. Minato had given command over to a rather more reliable ninja, one Morino Ibiki.

No sign of her, until Obito told him about the girl in the library. Sighing, Minato stood and moved over to the window, looking out over his village, wondering just what this strange portent meant for them all.

OoOoO

Sakura sat straight in her seat, Ino to one side, and Shino on the other. Iruka-sensei was up front of the class, lecturing them on battle techniques. This afternoon, they were headed outside, which usually meant sparring. The problem up on the board was easy, for her at least, she'd solved it as soon as it was up, but hadn't really said anything. Right now, she was just listening.

"Alright," Iruka-sensei said. "Today we've got a special guest. The Hokage will be here any moment, and he's going to be observing our class. So make sure you behave, alright, runts!?"

"Aw, why?" came a whine, and Sakura repressed a grin at Naruto's annoyed face. "Is he just coming here to check up on me again? I swear, I haven't done anything to deserve it!"

"Yet," Kiba smirked. "Face it, you're as much a troublemaker as your mother is."

"Hey! Don't you talk about my mother, you _baka_!"

"That's enough!" Iruka-sensei interrupted before the two could start fighting. "It's like I told you, he's simply coming to observe the class."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. "Whatever," he muttered, and Iruka-sensei sighed.

Within the next ten minutes, the Hokage arrived, and it was indeed Namikaze Minato. Sakura listened as he spoke to them about what it was to be a ninja of Konoha, something Iruka-sensei often tried to drill into them. Yet having the Hokage here to say it seemed to be having a better effect on them than just their sensei telling them so.

"Alright," Iruka-sensei said after about half an hour. "I want everyone to turn to page seventy of your text books, and start working on the problems there. In the mean time, Hokage-sama and I will come up to see how each of you are doing."

The material on page seventy was mostly about tactics and triage on the battlefield. Easy stuff for Sakura, and for some of the other students in class. Sasuke, definitely, and Shikamaru, if he decided to put in any effort. He probably would, since he'd likely never hear the end of it from his parents if he slacked off in front of the Hokage. Yondaime-sama was circling the room, talking to a few students here and there, getting a loud telling off from his son for not warning him that he'd be there, and then finally, he was at Sakura's desk.

"Very good," he said, startling Sakura slightly as she looked up to see him. "You seem to know your material."

"Sakura is one of our brightest students," Iruka-sensei said proudly. "Third in the class already."

"That's quite impressive, wouldn't you agree, Sakura?" the Hokage asked.

"I guess they're pretty good," Sakura said. "My mum always says I get my smarts from my dad, even if he doesn't show it all the time."

Minato smiled lightly at her, but Sakura saw a hint of searching in his eyes that reminded her of what Chimata-no-kami had told her. _"Interesting choice you made there on that last one,"_ he'd said. _"Though since others saw you, you're going to have some fall-out with that."_

Fall-out… So then the Hokage was suspicious? Inwardly Sakura sighed. She'd just have to fake ignorance, then, and hopefully not get caught out. But then the Hokage smiled brightly at her, and turned his attention to Shino, and then Ino, before moving on to the next desk. His visit ended as the lunch bell rang, and as they all fled the classroom, Sakura couldn't resist one look back, only to find him staring after her with a thoughtful expression on his face.

 **So how was it? Some people might be mad that I had Rin die anyway, but I was planning that from the start. In fact, I was going to have her die like in canon, but then I finally saw the bit where Madara told Obito that he'd arranged Rin's death. I was quite angry, he'd ruined my plot piece! So I just killed her off a different way.**

 **Anyway, the question I mentioned at the start has to do with the gennin teams and their sensei's. I don't want to do the same ones as in canon, because I feel that Minato wouldn't make the same teams as Sarutobi did. Here's the two main possibilities I came up with:**

 _Shikamaru, Sakura, Kiba. Obito as sensei, or Kakashi._

 _Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata. Kurenai as sensei._

 _Chouji, Ino, Shino. Asuma as sensei._

 _ **OR**_

 _Shikamaru, Sakura, Kiba. Obito as sensei, or Kakashi._

 _Sasuke, Chouji, Shino. Asuma as sensei._

 _Naruto, Ino, Hinata. Kurenai as sensei._

 **Which one do you think is best? I want a 'tracker' on each team, which would be Hinata, Kiba with Akamaru, and Shino. Don't want Ino on Sasuke's team either way, and no matter what, Sakura and Shikamaru will be on the same team. Well, maybe. Might swap Sasuke and Shikamaru around if it could work. Not too sure about Hinata and Sasuke both being on the same team, either, since they both have kekkei genkai, but again, I'm not that sure. Asuma and Kurenai could swap out as sensei's too.**

 **What do you guys think? Which team would be best? Or should I keep it canon anyhow?**

 **Anyway, review please! ;)**

 **Ps: Time-skip to graduation next chapter.**

 **Pps: Happy 18th birthday to my beautiful Princess! (the cat on my profile pic)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright, after everyone's differing opinions, and a stubborn lecture from my sister, I decided to keep the teams cannon. Except that Obito is Team Seven's sensei, not Kakashi. Mostly because I think that Minato knows that he'd be a rubbish teacher. So, cannon except for Obito it is then.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the new chapter, and disclaimer that I don't own Naruto stuff. Except the DVD's I bought, and the magnets on my fridge. And if I have anything else, I forget right now. :P**

 **Chapter Three**

 _Three years later…_

Today was graduation day. Sakura stood in front of her mirror in her bedroom, frowning at herself. It was sure to be different from her last graduation day, for a number of reasons. For one, Naruto had actually received his hitai-ate the previous day. Of course, being the Hokage's son, she doubted that he would have been denied it anyway. But Naruto had sensei's who actually gave a damn about his education this time round, not only having to rely solely on Iruka-sensei.

Another difference was that Sakura was graduating on more than just her chakra control and the strength of her grades. She and Ino had put in a lot of hard work over the past few years, and now Sakura was far better with her taijutsu and ninjutsu than before. She wasn't the best in the class with them, of course, but it was a _vast_ improvement on before. Also, her chakra reserves were up to where they had been back when she'd taken her successful chuunin exam.

She'd tried to recreate her seal as well, and after several failures due to her lack of chakra, she'd finally succeeded. It was hidden, though, as her shishou had told her that it was invisible until the first time it was used. Which of course explained why it only turned up that other time after she'd used it in the war. Currently, she had just under fifteen months worth stored up in the seal, hidden nicely away from prying eyes.

There were a few worrying issues that she had as well. Would she still get the same team as before? Sakura had befriended Naruto properly a few weeks after arriving in her nine year old self, and she knew through him that Kakashi hadn't taken those students that he'd failed before taking on Team Seven. She knew that the Sandaime had _made_ him take students after retiring him from ANBU, but from what she'd gleaned from Naruto, her old sensei hadn't spent as long in ANBU this time round as he had before.

Sakura eyed herself in the mirror critically. What she was wearing now was far more practical for a ninja than what she'd worn the first time round. It was similar to what she'd started wearing shortly after Naruto'd gone off with Jiraiya. The only differences were that she wasn't wearing gloves, and she'd replaced the medic-nin apron with a deceptively simple skirt that held hidden compartments.

Her hair was shorter, too, just an inch longer than where she'd had it before.

Sighing, Sakura decided that it was time. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail, which was how she wore it these days, and tied her hitai-ate into the position she'd always had it. It felt so good to feel the weight of it there once more. After double checking she had everything she needed, Sakura nodded to herself and headed downstairs.

"Sakura-chan!" Haruno Mebuki greeted her daughter as she stepped into the kitchen. "Oh, you're going to find out who your team and sensei are today, aren't you?"

Sakura smiled as she sat down and started in on the traditional breakfast, which today was steamed rice, grilled chicken, miso soup, a kobachi of tuna and avocado, and some natto. "Yup," she said after swallowing her first mouthful. "We'll be assigned the teams first, then our sensei's will come meet us after lunch."

"Will you be stopping in for lunch?" her mother asked. "I know the food stalls are closer to the Academy than home, though."

"I'll probably stop in at a stall," Sakura said. "Don't worry, I won't have anything too unhealthy."

Once breakfast was done, Sakura farewelled her parents and headed off, taking the path that would lead her past the Yamanaka flower shop. She and Ino had agreed to walk to the Academy together today, as they usually did anyway, and Sakura was due there in about ten minutes. As she strolled, Sakura's mind went over the last three years.

The Yondaime had changed the program at the Academy quite a lot, a change that Sakura thought was for the better. The final graduation test was no longer just a clone jutsu (seriously, who thought it was a good idea to graduate students based solely on _that_?) and was instead a combination of a written and practical exam. Naturally, Sakura had breezed through the written, and she felt inordinately pleased with herself on how well she'd done in the practical.

Sakura's extra training with Ino had been noticed by a few people, such as Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Hinata. They hadn't asked to join in or anything, but she'd noticed them training that extra bit themselves as well. Hinata actually had joined them a few times, but mostly stuck with training in her clan compound. The boys had made faces, though, when they realised how much extracurricular studying they were doing. Kiba had called them nerds, right before Ino'd punched him in the nose.

Grinning happily at the memory, Sakura realised that she'd reached the flower shop. Ino was leaning against the door, smirking at her.

"Daydreaming, Sakura?" she asked playfully.

"Just thinking about that time you punched Kiba in the face," Sakura said sweetly. "Ready to go?"

Ino nodded, poked her head in the shop and yelled, "Bye, mum!" then the two headed off.

"So, who do you think will be on your team?" Sakura asked.

"Well, obviously I want to be on _Sasuke-kun's_ team," Ino declared. "But dad reminded me last night that I'll probably end up on Shikamaru and Chouji's team."

"Really?" Sakura asked, trying to think if Inoichi had said that to his daughter the last time, coming up blank. "Why's that?"

Ino sighed. "It's because of the fact that _he_ was on a team with those two idiot's fathers," she said. "It's traditional, he told me, so I've been a bit depressed since then."

"Well, with any luck, Sasuke will be on my team, and you can come visit any time you want," Sakura said, crossing her fingers behind her back, _just in case_.

"On _your_ team?" Ino spoke, aghast.

"Better mine than some fan-girl, right?" Sakura told her.

"Better _Hinata_ ," Ino said. "Because at least there, I _know_ she won't be tempted, because that girl just _cannot_ keep her eyes off of Naruto!"

"There's _no way_ the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans would allow their members to be on the same gennin teams," Sakura scoffed. "Be realistic, Ino."

Ino sighed. "You're probably right," she conceded.

Truth was, Sakura had no idea how the teams would go. Ino was probably right with the traditional Ino-Shika-Cho team, but the rest? Well, Hinata, Shino, and Kiba with Akamaru might end up the same. But Sakura herself? Quite frankly, she thought it was pure luck that she got onto Team Seven the first time round as it was, but now? The worry she'd had earlier crept up on her once more, distracting her from Ino's babbling at her side.

"Sakura-chan! Ino-chan!"

A loud voice cut through her worries, and she and Ino looked over to see Naruto hurtling towards them. "Hey, are you two excited to see what our teams are?" he asked as he caught Sakura in a bear hug.

Naruto still had a crush on her, unfortunately. Sakura had already told him that she was only interested in being his friend, and he seemed to accept it. "Naruto, stop being such a pain, or I'll break your nose like I did Kiba's!" Ino yelled as Naruto hugged her as well.

"What?" he asked almost petulantly. "I'm just excited! Dad refused to tell me who my sensei will be, but I think I already know, so I kinda have an idea who _might_ be one of my team mates. The other person… I'm not too sure."

"What?" Ino gasped. "Who's your sensei gonna be?"

"Obito-oji," Naruto said. "I'm _sure_ of it!"

Sakura's heart faltered a bit. "Really?" she asked. "How can you be sure?"

"Because there aren't many people that dad would trust me with," he said matter-of-factly. "And he used to be my dad's student, so…"

"Well then, who do you think will be your team mate?" Ino asked. "My dad told me that I'll probably end up with Shikamaru and Chouji."

"You probably will," Naruto agreed. "In fact, I can almost guarantee it."

Ino groaned melodramatically as Naruto continued, "Sasuke's gonna be my team mate, because his clan want Obito-oji looking after him."

They reached the Academy, going in together with Naruto breaking off to sit with Kiba, which had him also sitting with Sasuke. A month or so before Sakura'd come back, Sasuke had apparently struck a deal with those two to sit near him to keep the fan-girls away. That was another new thing, as the one from the other time-line hadn't cared who sat where, which of course had him sitting next to annoying, giggling girls every now and then, herself included.

Sakura sat with Ino next to Shikamaru, and waited for Iruka-sensei to arrive. She was incredibly nervous about the team placements, wondering what was going to happen. Would she still end up with Naruto and Sasuke? Or was she going to have to get used to a new squad? Her nerves had her tapping the desk loudly enough for Ino to give her 'looks' until Iruka-sensei started reading out the teams.

"Alright, now on to Team Seven," he said after assigning the first six teams. "That will be Namikaze Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura."

Naruto cheered at the fact that Sakura would be on his team, but the kunoichi in question was just so _relieved_ that she didn't pay any attention to him.

"Team Eight will be Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Hinata," Iruka-sensei continued. "Team Nine will be…"

Nothing really changed, Team Nine was the same, and Ino got the same Team Ten as before. Once the lunch bell rang, they all headed outdoors.

"Hey Sakura!" Naruto said, racing up to her once they were outside. "You wanna come get lunch with me? I mean, we're gonna be on the same team and all, so maybe we should use this time to get better acquainted."

"We're already acquainted, Naruto," Sakura told him. "You're like one of my best friends."

"Like?" Naruto pouted.

"You're not stealing the title from Ino, no matter what," she told him sternly, then sighed. "Alright, fine, but go find Sasuke and get him to join us, since you want a _team_ lunch so much."

Naruto groaned. "Fine!" he grumbled, then vanished, only to reappear a few minutes later, dragging Sasuke by his sleeve.

"What the hell, Naruto!?" Sasuke was grumbling at him.

"We're having lunch with Sakura-chan as a team," Naruto told him. "End of discussion!"

Sakura giggled at them, then said, "Come on, I know a great little tempura restaurant not far from here."

OoOoO

After a rather eventful lunch, during which Naruto complained about the vegetables, never mind that they were _deep fried_ , they headed back to the Academy to meet their new sensei. Sakura had rather enjoyed eating with the two boys, liking how much more open and honest Sasuke was, even though he was still an Uchiha to his core. He still hn-ed annoyingly, but at least he properly answered direct questions when necessary.

She knew he and Naruto got along quite well, though to call them best friends would be pushing it. Kiba would be closer to being Naruto's best friend. Still, that rapport that the two had had in her previous time-line right before she'd come back seemed to still be there, though only in small amounts. Maybe they would actually end up there again anyway?

Sakura sat next to her two new team mates, watching as each team's sensei came to collect them, noting that Team Ten and Eight had the same sensei's as before. It was rather eerie how it had turned out the same… Finally, Uchiha Obito _did indeed_ walk in the door, much, much earlier than Kakashi had that first time, and Naruto jumped up, cheering.

"I knew it!" he yelled. "I knew you would be our sensei, Obito-oji!"

"It's Obito- _sensei_ to you now, kiddo," Obito said. "Come on, you three, let's go talk about what we're gonna do elsewhere."

He lead them around the back of the Academy, to a small garden that Sakura had never really paid much attention to before. It was rather nice, but beside the point. Obito sat them all down, then stood opposite them.

"Alright," he said. "The three of you rookies are going to be a team, so to start off with, how about you introduce yourself to me?"

"But I already know you, Obito-oji… uh… I mean, sensei," Naruto pointed out. "And you _definitely_ already know Sasuke as well."

"That's beside the point," Obito said. "You're a new team, and I'm your sensei, we'll be starting off on the foot _I_ decide on."

"Just do it, Naruto," Sasuke said. "Don't be such a baka."

"Fine!" Naruto huffed. "Er… _How_ should I do it?"

"Just tell me what you like and don't like," Obito suggested. "Maybe what your career goals as a ninja are."

"Uh okay then," Naruto mused. "I'm Namikaze Naruto. I like instant ramen in a cup, and I _really_ like the ramen that they sell at the Ichiraku noodle shop. But I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen cup. My goals? Umm… To be the strongest ninja in _all_ the ninja villages, and maybe, _maybe_ , be Hokage like my dad. But _only_ if I can hire someone to do all my paperwork for me!"

Sakura groaned, Sasuke rolled his eyes, and Obito chuckled. "Alright then, Sasuke, your turn."

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke," the gennin in question said. "I like training with my aniki, tomatoes, and good home cooking. And my dislikes are idiots, sweets, and going to ramen stands."

"Nooo!" Naruto cried. "Ichiraku ramen is the _best_ place for a quality meal!"

Sakura giggled as Sasuke smirked and continued, "My goal for my shinobi career is to one day end up an ANBU Captain."

"Sakura's turn!" Naruto cheered.

Sakura punched him lightly in the arm, then said, "I'm Haruno Sakura. I like reading, trivia games, sweets, and studying. I don't like spicy food, and have little patience for time wasters. My career goals… hmm… Well, after coming across a book about her in the library a few years ago, I decided that I'm going to be a medical ninja that surpasses the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade-hime!"

"Tsunade-sama, huh?" Obito spoke, eyeing her curiously. "That's quite a goal you've set for yourself."

"I've already studied up on some of her other techniques too," Sakura said. "Ino and I have been doing some volunteering at the hospital, with Iruka-sensei's written consent, and we can both heal minor wounds now."

"Very interesting," Obito noted.

"What about you, sensei?" Sakura asked. "Are you gonna introduce yourself as well?"

"Oh, well, alright, I suppose," he mused thoughtfully. "I'm Uchiha Obito. I enjoy _noh_ theatre, I appreciate a good prank, as long as no one is seriously hurt. I don't like traitors or boiled eggs, and I've pretty much done what I set out to do as a ninja when I was a kid, so now I'm trying new things. Like being sensei to you three.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, time for our first official training session as a team. Tomorrow, I want the three of you to meet me at training ground four for a training exercise. Make sure you have a good dinner, because I want you to skip breakfast in the morning."

"Why?" Naruto complained, obviously not wanting to miss out on an opportunity for ramen.

"Because I said so," Obito said. "Your father already knows not to let you near any food, so no trying to sneak anything, you got that?"

"What is the purpose of the exercise tomorrow?" Sasuke asked even as Naruto looked like he was about to pass out.

"To make sure that you can actually cut it as a gennin," Obito said. "If you don't pass tomorrow, you'll go back to the Academy to study for another year."

"What?!" Naruto yelped, flaring back to life. "No fair! I can't go back to the Academy, I just _graduated_!"

"Well, then, I suggest you pass tomorrow's test," Obito said. "Alright, the three of you are dismissed! And remember, training ground four, five a.m. sharp!"

He disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the three of them behind.

"What kind of exercise do you think it will be?" Sakura asked.

"Probably something to build on our team work," Sasuke said, surprising her as she stared at him. "What? It's not too difficult to figure out. Especially since my brother's been harping on at me about team work lately."

Suddenly Naruto gasped. "The bell test!" he exclaimed. "My dad told me once, _years_ ago, about the test his sensei gave him and his team, waaay back! You're right, bastard, it's a team building exercise!"

"Well, don't leave us in the dark!" Sakura said. "Tell us about it!"

"I will," Naruto said, then grinned evilly. "Over _Ichiraku Ramen_ for dinner tonight."

Sasuke's eye twitched as Sakura burst out laughing.

OoOoO

Obito stood outside the Hokage office, waiting to brief Minato-sensei on his new team. The other sensei's had already given their reports, though Asuma was in there right now about his team. He sighed as he thought on the three gennin he'd been assigned. Naruto was going to be interesting to watch, what with his mother's personality and basic skills. Being Hokage didn't really give Minato-sensei that much time to train his son, so Kushina-san had handled that. Though he fully intended to have his son sign the toad summon contract as soon as he could.

Sasuke was also going to be interesting, though in a different way. He was so much like his father in personality, though hopefully the harshness Fugaku-sama sometimes displayed would be balanced out a bit by Mikoto-oba's personality. Fugaku had personally come to the Hokage's office to make sure that his second son was put with a sensei that he approved of. Obito sighed and _really_ hoped that the three of them would pass tomorrow, otherwise he'd never hear the end of it from his clan head.

Sakura on the other hand… Obito still had no idea what her relationship to the woman who'd saved his life all those years ago was. He, Minato-sensei, and Kakashi had all shared theories over the years, though there was nothing they could definitely pin down. The fact that Sakura was interested in medical ninjutsu, and had already started training in it….

Obito pushed that thought aside as Asuma came out of the room.

"Hey, Obito," the Sandaime's only remaining son greeted him. "You can go straight in, he's waiting for you. Oh, and apparently we're all still on for tonight at the shinobi bar."

"Right, see you there," Obito said, then went in.

"Ah, Obito," Minato-sensei greeted him. "How did it go?"

"As expected with Naruto and Sasuke," Obito said. "Their dynamic is going to make for an excellent team."

"And Sakura?"

"She'll fit in nicely," Obito said carefully, "especially since she's already studying medical ninjutsu."

Minato-sensei's brow rose at that. "Really?" he asked. "How proficient is she at it?"

"She claims to be able to heal minor wounds," Obito said. "She and a friend of hers have apparently been learning by volunteering at the hospital."

Minato-sensei looked thoughtful. "Could it really be possible?" he wondered. "Could she really be the same person?"

"If your time travelling theory is correct," Obito said. "No matter how impossible."

"More like improbable," his Hokage murmured. "Still, you should keep a close eye on her. If it turns out that it really _is_ her... Well then, she'll end up having a lot of explaining to do."

Obito nodded, Minato-sensei dismissed him, and he took off back to the Uchiha compound to get ready for that night and prepare for tomorrow's test.

 **So what did you think? Not sure if I should detail the bell test too much, I really, really suck at fight scenes, after all. Maybe yes, maybe no, we'll see.**

 **Review please!**

 _Hitai-ate: The forehead protector._

 _Kobachi: A small bowl._

 _Natto: Fermented soy beans that's sometimes had with breakfast._

 _Oji: Uncle._

 _Tempura:_ _A_ _Japanese dish of fish, shellfish, or vegetables, fried in batter._

 _Baka: Idiot._

 _Noh: Japanese masked theatre._

 _Oba: Aunt._


	4. Chapter 4

**New chapter! Whoo! I can't believe I _actually_ managed to pull this outta my head. :) I think the format that spilled out is rather cool.**

 **Anyway, disclaimer and enjoy!**

 **Chapter Four**

Naruto was a bouncing ball of energy when he woke up that following morning. The only bad thing about today was that his okaa-chan and otou-chan had sealed all the food in the house off from him. He pouted, but let it pass as he packed his ninja gear into his favourite bag.

"Make sure you do well," his okaa-chan told him as he pulled on his sandals. "And remember to listen to your sensei, alright?"

"Okay, okaa-chan!" Naruto said. "Don't worry about me! Sakura-chan, Sasuke-bastard and I have an air-tight plan for today!"

"Really?" his okaa-chan asked. "When did you make these plans?"

"Last night, at Ichiraku's," Naruto said. "There's _no way_ we're going back to the Academy! We're _gennin_ , and that's all there is to it!"

His okaa-chan smiled indulgently. "Alright, Naruto-kun," she said, kissing the top of his head. "I'll see you later on, and you can tell me all about it."

"Bye, okaa-chan!" Naruto called, and took off.

OoOoO

The Uchiha household was cheery in a dignified way. Sasuke woke to the smell of breakfast cooking, and silently bemoaned that he couldn't have any of it. He and his team mates had agreed to abide by the 'no breakfast' rule, mostly because Naruto-dobe knew that there was _no way_ his parents would let him eat, so apparently they _all_ had to suffer. Sighing, he gathered his pack and headed downstairs.

"Oh, good morning, Sasuke-kun," his okaa-san greeted him. "Are you heading off to meet your team now?"

"Yes, okaa-san," Sasuke agreed.

"Well, I'm sure you'll do well today," she told him.

"Of course he will," came his otou-san's voice, and Sasuke looked over to see him and his nii-san enter the kitchen. "He's an Uchiha, I would expect nothing less."

Sasuke successfully hid his flinch at the expectation in his father's voice. "Well, I'm off," he said. "I'll see you afterwards, okaa-san, otou-san. Good luck on your mission, nii-san."

"Bye Sasuke!" his okaa-san called as he left the house and headed off to meet Naruto and Sakura.

OoOoO

Sakura stood in front of her mirror, taking deep, relaxing breaths. Today was an unknown, she had no idea what kind of sensei Obito would be. Heck, she really didn't know what kind of _person_ he was, except for a few small snippets she'd garnered from Naruto over the last three years. And really, she hadn't been paying all that much attention to what he said, either, as she'd erroneously believed that they would get Kakashi as a sensei again.

She scoffed. How _stupid_ of her.

Sighing, she turned and picked up her backpack, which contained the standard ninja gear. Heading downstairs, she found her parents in the kitchen, chatting over their breakfast.

"Sakura-chan!" her father greeted her. "You're up early. How's my pumpkin today?"

"I'm great, otou-san," she said. "I've got a team exercise today."

"Ah, yes, I see," her father said, looking thoughtful.

And he probably did, since he was a gennin once.

"Well, sit and have some breakfast before you go," Sakura's mother said. "I've made plenty for all!"

"Sorry, okaa-san," Sakura declined. "But we were told to skip breakfast today."

"What on earth for?" her civilian mother demanded.

"Er, don't worry about it, Mebuki-koi," Sakura's father said. "I'll explain in a moment. Well, off you go Sakura! And good luck!"

"Thanks!" Sakura said, giving her parents a kiss on the cheek each.

As she left the house, she smiled at the sound of her mother demanding to know why their daughter was barred from eating breakfast.

OoOoO

Obito stood in a tree a short distance from his new team, just watching them. He had a lot of pressure on him today, what with Fugaku-sama breathing down his neck, and even Kushina-neesan giving him a thinly veiled threat if her son didn't pass the bell test today. At least with Sakura, no one was threatening him there, but he had a feeling that Minato-sensei probably wouldn't be too happy if he failed the kunoichi he suspected of one day travelling back in time to save Obito's life.

Was this why she did it? Because she was on his team? Well, if it was true, that is. He still had his doubts.

Sighing, he watched as the three gennin before him settled onto the ground to wait. Obito had told them to be here by five, and they had been, but he had no intention of turning up until six. As he observed them, he watched them grow agitated with waiting. Naruto kept shifting back and forth, Sasuke was scowling darkly, and Sakura… Well, Sakura was leaning back with her hands behind her, face turned up to the sky and ignoring her team mates.

Well, _that_ didn't bode well for the purpose of this test.

Of course, that was just on appearances. Thinking back to his own bell test, Obito grimaced at the memory of being tied to a post, watching Rin and Kakashi eating their lunch, until Rin took pity on him and started to feed him. He wondered which of these three would end up on the post, and knew the smart money was on Naruto.

Checking the time, he saw that it was almost six, and decided to go over to put his gennin out of their misery. With single hand sign, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and reappeared right in front of them.

OoOoO

"You're late, Obito-sensei!" Naruto yelled.

Sakura sighed and slowly stood up. She'd sensed their sensei over in that tree almost as soon as he'd shown up, wondering why he was just standing there. Then she reasoned he was probably observing them to see what they'd do while waiting.

"Sorry, Naruto," Obito said, a smile in place. "You see, I was helping an old lady with-"

"Argh! No lame excuses!" Naruto yelled, then crossed his arms defiantly. "We've been waiting here for _hours_!"

"Baka, it hasn't even been _one_ hour," Sasuke said. "You're too impatient."

"No need to argue about it," Obito said. "I'm here now, and the test can start."

He pulled out a small clock and placed it on the stump. "This is set for three hours," he told them, then dangled two bells in front of them. "You have that long to get these from me. Use any method you want, and make sure you give it your all. If you aren't prepared to kill me, you'll never pass."

"There's only two bells," Sasuke said, starting the plan they'd come up with the previous night. "How exactly is that going to work?"

"An astute observation," Obito smirked. "Two bells, three gennin… Whoever doesn't get a bell, will be tied to one of these posts. Whether it's just one of you, or all three, that person or persons, will be sent back to the Academy. Are you ready?"

Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke all got into their stances. "Bring it on," Naruto practically growled.

"Alright, begin!"

And with that, the three of them scattered.

OoOoO

 _The previous night…_

" _So, what's the plan?" Naruto asked in between slurps of ramen._

 _Making a brief face at how disgusted he was, Sasuke said, "Well, first we'll need to get out of his immediate line of sight. We'll need to hide at first, just so we can get our bearings."_

" _What? Hide!?" Naruto whined. "That's so_ uncool _!"_

" _It's just until we can regroup together," Sasuke said. "Sakura?"_

 _Sakura nodded. "We should try flanking him after that," she suggested. "You two know him best, do either of you know how he fights?"_

" _I've seen him spar with Kakashi-oji," Naruto said. "He's not as fast as him, unless they're using their sharingan. Then Obito-oji… er… I mean sensei… is a bit faster."_

" _Hatake Kakashi has the sharingan?" Sakura asked, hoping to glean some information she hadn't been able to dig up before. "He's not an Uchiha, is he?"_

" _Obito-sensei gave it to him near the end of the last war," Sasuke said. "When they came back, he refused to take it back, so the clan had to let him keep it."_

" _But Obito-sensei has two eyes," Sakura noted. "Did he get a transplant?"_

" _One of his distant cousins who died," Naruto said, then shivered. "Can we drop that subject? It's as creepy now as it was before when I first heard it!"_

" _Alright then," Sasuke moved on. "Obito-sensei's speed…"_

OoOoO

He found them pretty quickly. Sakura had to admire the fact that his sensing ability was as good as it was. Flanking him was apparently a terrible idea, because he simply shunshined out of the way. Cheater. Glaring at the spot he previously occupied, Sakura turned to the most likely place he'd be, finding him grinning at them from several feet away.

"Not bad," he said. "But also not good enough."

OoOoO

" _What if flanking doesn't work?" Sakura asked, realising that Sasuke was turning out to be a blessing with his being able to strategize based on Obito's past spars he'd witnessed._

" _Then an attempt at a head on assault," the young Uchiha said. "All at once, not separately. You got that, Naruto-baka?"_

" _Shut up, bastard," Naruto grumbled._

OoOoO

Sasuke nodded to Sakura, then Naruto. Sakura pulled out her kunai and launched herself at Obito, just as her team mates did too. Their 'sensei' couldn't hide a fleeting grin as he dodged and parried their attacks. Enjoying himself, obviously. Naruto let out a war cry as he lunged at him, Sasuke kicked out at his head, even as Sakura attacked his legs with a low kick. Not a single hit connected, which was incredibly frustrating.

Obito leapt back away from them. "Very good," he told them. "You're all doing quite well, so how about we kick it up a notch?"

He started forming hand signs, and Sakura's eyes widened.

OoOoO

" _So he's fast," Sakura said. "What about ninjutsu? Do you think he'll use it?"_

" _He and Hatake have an impressive range of jutsu," Sasuke admitted, and Sakura detected a hint of envy. "And of course, there's the clan fire jutsu too."_

" _Yeah, you don't wanna be on the receiving end of one of_ those _," Naruto said with a glare in Sasuke's direction._

" _For the last time, baka, it was an_ accident _!"_

OoOoO

Dodging out of the way just in time as a fireball came flying at them, Sakura was cursing that they'd gotten Obito as their sensei. Sure, Kakashi had been just as bad with his jutsu, but at least he hadn't tried to fry them on their first bell test. He left that for their second one. Landing next to Naruto, she grimaced at the sight of a small burn on her team mate's hand.

"Argh!" he yelled. "No fair, sensei!"

Obito chuckled. "Okay, _maybe_ that was a bit over the top. How about this one then?"

More hand signs, and this time, it was a water jutsu. Naruto got soaked. So, with ninjutsu, they were _never_ going to get one of those bells.

OoOoO

" _So, just_ how _good is your medical ninjutsu?" Sasuke asked._

" _Good enough," Sakura told him. "Why?"_

" _We're undoubtedly going to be injured tomorrow," he told her. "You need to make sure that you keep enough chakra in reserve so that you can heal those injuries."_

" _Yeah, yeah!" Naruto agreed. "Sakura-chan and Ino-chan are both_ awesome _with healing! Just last month, they both fixed up Chouji when he got hurt in taijutsu class!"_

" _Don't worry," Sakura promised. "Healing will be a main priority tomorrow."_

OoOoO

They'd managed a retreat in the face of their sensei's ninjutsu. Sakura grimaced as her ribs ached from an earth style jutsu, healing it carefully. Then she grabbed Naruto's hand and healed his burn.

"Where the heck did Sasuke-bastard go?" Naruto complained.

"We got separated," Sakura said bluntly.

"S-Sakura," came Sasuke's voice, and her eyes widened as she looked over to see an exact replica of the genjutsu Kakashi had pulled on her way back when.

"B-Bastard?"

OoOoO

" _Do you think he'll use genjutsu?" Naruto asked, making a face. "That's stuff's worse than your stupid fireballs!"_

" _Can't you break a genjutsu, Naruto?" Sakura asked. "Wait, we were taught that in the last few months at the Academy, weren't we?"_

" _Yeah, but I_ suck _at it," Naruto whined._

" _You suck full stop," Sasuke said, ducking nonchalantly as Naruto threw a boiled egg at his head._

OoOoO

"Kai!"

Sakura released the genjutsu, then reached over and interrupted Naruto's chakra flow to snap him out of it. Naruto gulped even as they heard Obito chuckle.

"Well done, Sakura, well done."

Sakura grabbed Naruto and got them the hell out of there.

"What the heck was that?" Naruto demanded. "The Bastard…"

"Genjutsu," she said. "We need to find Sasuke.

"No need," came Sasuke's voice again, but this time, there was no genjutsu, and Sasuke was unharmed. "What happened to you two?"

"Obito-sensei sucks!" Naruto grumbled.

"Genjutsu," Sakura explained. "You hurt?"

"Not really," Sasuke said. "So… what now?"

OoOoO

" _So what if all that fails?"_

 _Silence as they sat there, other than Naruto slurping his ramen._

" _There may be a technique I can use," Sakura said. "You guys remember what I said earlier, about reading up on Tsunade-hime and wanting to surpass her?"_

" _Yeah, yeah!"_

" _Hn."_

" _Well… There's a certain ability that she has that_ might _just give us the edge we need to get a bell," Sakura told them. "It will probably only work once, because it will be completely dependant on surprise."_

" _Alright then, spill," Sasuke commanded._

 _A grin formed on Naruto's face as she spoke, and even Sasuke looked his version of gleeful._

OoOoO

They stood before their sensei, having been battling for just over two and a half hours now. Obito grinned at them.

"Ready to give up?" he asked.

"No way!" Naruto declared, and he and Sasuke lunged at him.

"Now, Sakura!" Sasuke yelled.

Gathering as much chakra as she could to her fist, Sakura's fist collided with the earth, startling Obito as Sasuke and Naruto lunged at him. Both reached for the bells, Naruto missing, but Sasuke _just_ managing to get a hold of them. Obito stumbled back, unprepared for the attack, even as Sakura felt that her chakra was getting low. Her boys pulled back, with Sasuke handing over a bell to Naruto.

Panting, Sakura joined her boys, grinning at their sensei. "Well?" she asked smugly. "How was that?"

OoOoO

Obito was flabbergasted. _How in the hell had she done that?_ Of all the things that her Academy report had said she could do, learning and, by the looks of it, _mastering_ Tsunade-hime's chakra enhanced strength technique was _not_ one of them. Eyes narrowed, he glared up at them. Just who in the hell was this girl?

"Where did you learn that?" he asked.

"From the books in the library about Tsunade-hime," the girl told him. "It took _ages_ , but I finally got it a few months ago. Ino's still working on it though, but her chakra control isn't as good as mine so who knows?"

She sounded so _smug_ about it, too. Sighing, Obito got to his feet. "Alright," he said. "Since the objective of this exercise has been reached, you all pass."

"Wait, we _all_ pass?" Sasuke asked. "That's contradictory to what you said earlier."

"This test was designed to make sure that gennin could work together as a team," Obito told them. "The three of you not only worked together, you also got the bells. So, you pass."

"Yay!" Naruto yelled, pumping his fists in the air. "We passed! We passed! We're ninja! Whoo-hoo!"

Obito smiled in spite of himself. "Alright," he told them. "Since we're now officially a team, we'll be meeting back here tomorrow at eight for our first mission. You guys are dismissed."

He watched the three of them leave, chattering excitedly as they headed off to no doubt go eat, then he shunshined away, intent on informing Minato-sensei of _everything_ that had happened here today.

 **So what did you think? Obito's sure got a lot to tell Minato, hasn't he? I hope I didn't make it too tough for a gennin team, but Obito didn't activate his sharingan or anything. :P**

 **Anyway, review please!**

 **Ps: I think I should mention, since it hasn't come up in the story, that Naruto still has half of Kurama in him. I'm gonna try and figure out how to mention it in upcoming chapters, so we'll just see. Kushina has the other half, FYI.**


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